I'll Catch You
by WritingReadingLaughing
Summary: Kirk and Sulu fall from the drill. Chekov can only watch. Chulu.


**I love the Chekov/Sulu pairing and I have devoured pretty much every piece of writing that has them as a couple. I've since ran out and so I'm keeping myself entertained by writing about them myself. This was only meant to be a couple hundred words long, but then I kind of got carried away. Please let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek **

* * *

"I need officers who've been trained in advanced hand to hand combat."

"I have training, sir."

Chekov fingers froze where they were hovering above the console, in the middle of a complex equation. That couldn't be Sulu. Sulu wouldn't be so stupid as to volunteer for what would most likely be a suicide mission. It was just not at all like his best friend.

The captain was still speaking as he left the bridge, closely followed by Spock, Kirk and Sulu and Chekov barely managed to acknowledge the command that what was given to him. His mind was so focused on the fact that Hikaru had agreed to a mission without any idea of what it could possibly be, that he didn't realize that the captain had actually _given him the conn_.

Chekov sent one last intense look at Sulu as he disappeared in to the turbolift and the doors closed, breaking the line of sight. He let out a deep breath and turned back to the equation on his PADD, but he found it difficult to concentrate. His mind was supplying all sorts of different scenarios about what the mission could be and all the different ways that it could go wrong.

Hikaru had been his friend ever since the Academy, when Pavel had been assigned to room with him. They'd hit it off immediately and soon they were the best of friends, joined to the hip when they weren't in different classes. Hikaru had other friends of course, but he'd always make time for Pavel.

They had had weekly holo-vid nights over sake and vodka where Pavel would always pretend to fall asleep halfway through, so that he had an excuse to lean up against Hikaru and just breathe the other man in. Find comfort in Hikaru's cheap shampoo and the old fashioned shaving cream that he always insisted on using.

Sometimes Pavel would cook for them, using real ingredients and not bland replicated ones. The cadet lived for the look on Hikaru's face when his roommate would walk in after a long shift at his job in one of the botany labs and realize that there was real food waiting for him.

When Hikaru smiled at him or laughed at something he'd said, Pavel cheeks would always begin to burn and it was hard to keep from feeling amazing that Hikaru would pay attention to him. Hikaru had never made fun of his Russian accent, no matter how funny others had seemed to find it, and Chekov had appreciated that immensely. It had made him feel slightly less of the child that he was and more like the adult he wanted to be.

Pavel had tried to fence under Hikaru's instruction, but after one lesson when his friend had taken of his shirt, Pavel had been forced to leave, cheeks burning and muttering excuses.

It was after that incident that Pavel had had to admit it to himself. He was in love with Hikaru Sulu.

* * *

Commander Spock came back just as Chekov finished up his calculations and sent them off to someone down in the Tactical section of the Enterprise. The Vulcan didn't say a word, just simply walked over to the chair and sat down.

There was a short, tense conversation between him and Dr. McCoy, but Chekov didn't pay any attention to it. A new report had just appeared on his PADD, and he opened it, finding a brief summary of the mission. His eyes widened as he noticed the words "space jump". Dr. McCoy was well known to suffer from aviaphobia and feared anything that could fly, but Chekov was the only one who knew that Sulu didn't have a head for heights either.

God only knew what had possessed the man to become a pilot.

His PADD signaled that he had a message waiting. A documentation of all factors about the away team, including pulse, breathing, stress levels, condition of their suits among other things. A chart appeared on the main screen showing the altitude and distance from the away team to the target. They were just entering the atmosphere. Chekov kept his eyes on Sulu's vitals, noting that his respiratory rate and pulse were elevated but not terribly so.

They were just over four and half kilometers above the platform, when Sulu's voice came over the communicator. There was a hint of fear in his voice, but Chekov still smiled a little as the familiar voice filled the bridge.

"Pull the chute!" Chekov wasn't surprised that it was Hikaru that had pulled his parachute first. He was amazed that the pilot had lasted this long without resorting to his safety net.

Kirk pulled his not long after, but Olsen didn't. He kept going shouting out distances as he fell, head first towards the platform. Chekov switched pages on his PADD and went to Olsen's vital monitoring section. The stress levels were almost nil, but the adrenaline levels were high. Chekov was just going to check his breathing rate and other bodily functions when the screen flashed red and the statistics were wiped clean.

That could only mean one thing.

"Olsen is gone sir." Chekov didn't even realize that he'd spoken until long after the fact. There really hadn't been any reason to say it, not even a need to confirm what everyone else knew.

The levels of fear and adrenaline had just spiked with Sulu, and Pavel wished that he could reassure his friend, but he didn't want to do anything over a public channel.

Kirk landed not long after, and though Chekov was glad that he'd made it, he couldn't relax until he knew that his friend was safe. When this was all over, Chekov was never going to let Hikaru out of his sight. Maybe he'd even confess his feeling for the other man, though he knew that they would never be reciprocated. Hikaru had never shown any interest in men and would only ever chat up women. Oh well, that was his lot in life.

An alert popped up and Chekov's mind froze as he opened it and a damage report came up. At least three large holes had been shot in Hikaru's parachute and there were a couple smaller ones. The little control that Hikaru had had at the start was gone and Chekov could only hope that his best friend (that he was secretly in love with) could still land.

He did, but not without losing his chute altogether. Chekov didn't give that much thought. As long as Hikaru was alright, Chekov could breathe easy.

For the next few moments there was radio silence and Chekov could only sit and wait for a report. There was nothing, and then almost every station began beeping, signaling that the jamming signal was gone.

"Chekov, run gravitational sensors. I want to know what they are doing to the planet."

"Aye Commander." Even as the words left his mouth, Chekov wanted to take them back. Spock was no longer a commander, that much was obvious by the way he'd taken Captain Pike's place. He could only settle for correcting his mistake.

"Keptin, sorry. Keptin."

Fingers flew across his PADD, sending orders to scan Vulcan for any signs of abnormal activity. Messages sent, Chekov leaned back, but as soon as he'd relaxed, he sat back up as alarms began to ring.

"Kirk to Enterprise. They've just launched something in planet through the hole they've just drilled. Do you copy Enterprise?" Chekov didn't pay any attention to Kirk's message. He was busy trying trying to make sense of all the information that was pouring into his PADD. The statistics were off the scale and Chekov had never seen anything like it except… Except…

There had been that extra-credit lecture that he'd gone to during his first year. Much of what had been said was far too advanced, even for him, but the part about black holes had stuck with him. All the facts about them, equations and formulas and everything in between had been discussed and now Chekov finally had a use for it. He reran the test, hoping for the first time that he was terribly, terribly wrong and that there was no black hole being formed.

His voice shook very slightly as he turned in his chair to face his captain and gave his report. Spock gave no outward indication that he was affected by the knowledge that Vulcan would be destroyed, but the fact that he'd barely waited for Chekov to finish giving his estimate of remaining time showed that the captain was worried.

"Alert Vulcan Command Center to signal a planetwide evacuation, all channels, all frequencies. Maintain standard orbit.

"What? Spock, wait! Where are you going?

"To evacuate the Vulcan High Council. They are tasked with protecting our cultural history. My parents will be among them."

"Can't you beam them out?"

"It is impossible. They will be in the Katrik Arc. I must get them myself. Chekov, you have the conn." And with that, the captain left the bridge. Chekov let out a deep sigh and let his hands run through his unruly curls. He was exhausted. He'd spent the previous night studying for one of his final exams and then had the test cancelled by the emergency on Vulcan. When this was all over, he was going to get a long night's sleep.

Kirk was talking, telling them to beam them up. Chekov just concentrated on the fact that within a few seconds, Hikaru was going to be back on board and they could figure out what the hell was going on together. To keep his mind occupied, he checked the status of both their shields and their phasers and torpedoes. They were recharging slowly. The shields were now at nearly fourty-five percent.

His PADD notified him to message from the transporter room, and thinking that it was to let him know that Kirk and Sulu had safely returned, Pavel absentmindedly clicked it open. The panic in the woman's voice made him stop what he was doing and actually pay attention to what was being said.

"Sir! We're trying to lock on to them, but they keep moving! We think that they've fallen off. We're doing all we can sir." Chekov's breath hitched at that. Hikaru was falling without a chute. Hikaru was _falling without a chute._

"Keep trying!" Chekov's fingers flew across the screen as he checked through statistics and wracked his brain as he tried to figure out what he could do to save Hikaru. He kept glancing up at the main screen, watching as the blue and yellow dots that represented the two moved closer and closer to the ground. He went through calculations at record speed, numbers running through is mind as he tried to find a solution.

Letting out a sound of frustration, Chekov did the only option that was left. Standing up, he handed over the conn to the person sitting next to him. The person sitting in Hikaru's chair. Then, he rushed out.

It seemed to take forever for him to get to the transporter room. People just wouldn't move out of the way fast enough, and even though he was a fast runner, his legs just wouldn't give him that extra bit of speed that he needed. When he'd left the bridge, the distance between Hikaru and the planet's surface had been impossibly close, almost too close for the transporter to be able to beam them up before they hit the ground.

Now, there was even less time.

"Giwe me manual control! I can lock on!" The woman jumped back from the console and Chekov appreciated the fact that she didn't question the order.

He knew how to work a transporter. He'd worked at one of the research facilities for two summers and the technology wasn't complex at all. Why his fingers were shaking so badly had nothing to do with inexperience.

It was the work of a few seconds to lock on to the two men and energize the transporter. Chekov made a mental note to check all engineers tasked with the transporter. If a seventeen year old boy in the Command stream could use the transporter when those who'd been specifically trained to couldn't, the Academy was certainly not doing their job.

There was a crash on the transporter pad, and Chekov couldn't help but stare at Hikaru and how the suit left nothing to the imagination. Kirk and Sulu shared a few words and helped each other stand and limp off the pad. Pavel caught Hikaru's eye, but broke the connection when Spock pushed past him and walked on to the pad. Pavel stared at him confused for a second. The Vulcan had left the bridge a few minutes before Chekov had, so shouldn't he have been on Vulcan already?

Chekov brushed that slight detail to the side and activated the transporter, watching as Spock's atoms broke apart and he disappeared. When he was sure that the captain had arrived safely, Pavel turned around to see Hikaru leaning against the wall as one of the doctors checked him over with a tri-corder.

His friend looked at him and gave him a smile that Chekov would have returned if the sudden feeling of anger hadn't risen up inside of him. Hikaru's eyes, which just seconds before had been shinning at him with happiness, where now narrowing and filling with worry. Pavel took several steps forward and that was when he let the anger take control.

He barely registered the feeling of his fist connecting with his friend's face. The security officer attempting to restrain was completely ignored. The doctor that was trying to place himself between Chekov and Sulu did nothing to stop the young navigator. Kirk was yelling something, someone was calling for more security officers and the only thing that Chekov could pay attention to was the look in Hikaru's eyes.

They were begging him to stop, those gentle brown eyes were asking him in their own, silent way, why Pavel was acting like this. The worry that was present there was what got through to the navigator. Something wet rolled down his cheek and Pavel brought his hand up to face to wipe away the tear.

Before he knew what he was doing Pavel had broken the grip the security guard had on him, and had stepped right up to Hikaru. Then he was kissing him. Silence reigned and Pavel tried to ignore the stares from everyone in the room.

Hikaru's lips were slightly chapped, most likely from the high speed fall without a helmet, but they were just as soft as Pavel had imagined them. Pavel wanted to do so much more, but the rational part of his mind told him that Hikaru didn't like him this way. That the pilot only thought of them as friends.

Pavel pulled back swiftly and turned to leave without making eye contact with anyone in the room. He made it two steps before he was whirled around and pressed against the frame of the door, Hikaru's lips brushing against his own. He gasped at the contact and in doing so, let Hikaru's tongue flick inside his mouth.

Wrapping his arms tighter around Hikaru's shoulders, Pavel buried his fingers in the other man's hair and tried to pull him impossibly closer. This time, Hikaru was the one who pulled back, but didn't go far, only resting their foreheads against each other's. Pavel lost himself in those soft brown eyes and barely noticed the whistles coming from Kirk's direction.

Hikaru bent his head down to rest against the Russian's shoulder and Pavel lent into the hug, finding comfort in the feeling of those strong arms around him. Sulu was mumbling words into his yellow shirt, so quietly that Pavel couldn't understand what he was saying. They stayed like that for an indefinite amount of time before Spock's voice came over the communication line, ordering them to beam him up.

"Sir, the change in gravity is making it too difficult to lock on." Pavel broke the hug and knelt down next to console. Fingers skimmed over the screen and within seconds he had everyone locked and ready to beam up. It was a lot easier when he wasn't worried about Hikaru.

An alarm started blaring and Chekov's eyes widened as watched the connection break between the Enterprise and the sole human of the group. Shapes were appearing on the pad, but Chekov ignored them as he tried to regain the connection. It was too late. Once he'd realized that, Pavel let his hands rest against the console, not daring to look up and see Spock on the transporter pad, knowing that he'd been unable to save the one person that was probably the most important to his captain.

No one spoke. All eyes were on Spock and the arm that he held out. Chekov felt as if the air was slowly being squeezed out of his lungs. The tension in the room was almost pliable and Chekov didn't want to be the one to break it. Not after everything that had happened.

Spock was the first to move, leaving the transporter room and everyone else in silence. Chekov was the next to move, not being able to take the constricting atmosphere any longer and needing to be alone. Hikaru was looking at him with concern in his eyes, but Pavel ignored him.

Once he'd left everyone behind, Pavel finally felt the shock wash over him and the reality of what had happened begin to sink in. He began run, gradually speeding up until he was going as as fast as he could without slipping on the black polished floors. He was at his quarters within minutes and keyed in the code with shaking fingers.

The door whooshed open and he walked in, not bothering to turn on the lights and collapsed on the bed when he reached it. His quarters were small and there was little there besides a change of clothes and a toothbrush, as the mission wasn't supposed to take that long.

Kicking off his boots, Chekov huddled down under the covers and tried to ignore the words pounding around inside his head that were mocking him, guilt tripping him.

_You couldn't save her. _

_You weren't good enough. _

_You couldn't save her._

Over and over they were repeated and each time the blows fell harder and harder, until it was an almost physical pain. His own mind, the one thing that he'd been proud of, had betrayed him and now was making him feel worse and worse.

The rational part of his mind told him that it wasn't his fault. That the fact that he'd managed to beam up seven people from a planet, with a black hole forming so close was amazing. A feat of genius. The other part of his mind didn't see it that way. It saw it as a failure. A mistake. Something to improve on.

The ongoing war between two parts of his brain made the rest of Pavel want to curl up and never be seen again. The generic blankets that Starfleet provided gave little comfort. They smelt of disinfectant and cleanliness.

Pavel started as a hand came to rest upon his shoulder. He tensed, but when the hand began to rub soothing circles around his neck and back, Pavel felt his body respond to the touch and relax. After a while, the bed shifted as someone sat down on the edge and Pavel moved over a little to give them a little more room.

He knew it was Hikaru. No one else would even know where his quarters were, let alone come in uninvited and begin to give him a massage.

The massage ceased for a moment, and Pavel shrunk back into the tiny ball that he'd wrapped himself up in since he got back. An arm wrapped around his waist and the navigator offered no protest as he was pulled in to Hikaru's embrace.

"It's not your fault, you know."

Pavel only nodded.

"You tried your best. Everyone knows that. Spock knows that. Hell, if they hadn't had you behind the controls, none of the Vulcans would have been beamed up."

Pavel nodded again. He knew all this. He knew that he had a better understanding of the transporter. He _knew_ all this and yet it hadn't sunk in yet.

"Will you come up to the bridge? I've been up there already and it's just too quiet without you."

After a couple moments of silence, the only sound in the pitch black room the sound of Hikaru breathing right next to his ear.

"Please Pavel."

"… Wery vell Hikaru. I vill come to ze bridge in a minute." The words were barely audible, but despite the low volume, his voice never wavered. Hikaru shifted behind him and got up, making his way to the door. Pavel waited for the telltale sound of the door opening and the sudden influx of light from the corridor. It never came.

Instead, Pavel felt a hand card through his curls and lips brush his temple ever so lightly. Pavel couldn't help but smile as Hikaru pulled away and left his quarters. He stayed in bed for another minute or so, before pulling on boots and checking his hair in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, Pavel left the safety of his quarters and made his way to the bridge.

"Reporting for duty, Keptin."

"Of course Mr. Chekov." Several heads turned, but Chekov just ignored them as he walked to his seat beside Sulu. The pilot looked bruised and bashed up, but he was smiling at him, and the crinkle around his eyes made him seem even more handsome. Chekov blushed at the thought and turned back to his console.

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**Please review!**

**WritingReadingLaughing**


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